HIking At Lago Del Narèt Lake Reservoir

Beautifully located at the very end of the Vallemaggia District, you can discover Lago del Narèt reservoir. This small but stunning lake reservoir is a starting place for hikers and the final point for cyclists and cars discovering the valley. The lake is within the Ticino canton of Switzerland and a popular destination during the warmer months, but also stunning during Spring, Autumn and Winter.

Read on to see our little inspiration on why you should visit Lago del Narèt as well as some facts and our experience during our visit during early Autumn time.

Map of Lago Del Narèt Location

The lake reservoir is located at the very end of the driving valley route. This you can see as the largest lake at in the map below. There are also many smaller lakes situated around the main three big lakes, all reachable with hiking such as Lago Superiore and Lago di Sassolo.

The route up is mostly a concrete path as well as a dirt path in some sections. It was easy for us to drive up there in a normal car, since we had good clear weather. The road was pretty small but doable with areas to pass others along the way up.

Facts about Lago Del Narèt

Here are some facts we have found about Lago Del Narèt worth sharing:

It is located at the very end of the Vallemaggia District in Ticino, Switzerland
The elevation of the lake is 2316 meters above sea level
It has a surface area is 86 ha (210 acres)
The reservoir opened in 1970
The Narèt reservoir is used for hydropower
The lake is 32km long
The closest village is Fusio, which you have to drive past Lago di Sassilo

Our Hike Explorations At Lago Del Narèt

We loved our visit to the valley and Lago Del Narèt. We took a drive during the end of September when the Ticino Autumn colours were starting. It was a beautiful sunny day with only a few clouds, but it was rather windy at the top.

To get there, we took our own car and took our time up the valley. It’s also possible to hike up as well as to cycle, which we saw many with mountain bikes along the way.

We first stopped at Lago di Sassilo on the way, which is a stunning spot of scenery for a pitstop. We parked up here and explored the area a little as well as taking lots of photos!

From this lake, we drove further up past Lago Superiore and to Lago Del Narèt as the final destination. The reservoir was pretty empty, but a few hikers, 1 motorbike and a few small cars were parked up here for the day. They must have also been hiking in the area!

The lake is pretty cool to see, surrounded by the local mountains that you can hike to. There are multiple routes and we did only a little route along the reservoir and back to the car, when it was getting too cold! However while we were there, we already made plans to come back and hike to some of the peaks and smaller lakes nearby.

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Visiting Tips

Here are some of our personal tips for visiting:

Drive Carefully

We would not suggest that you drive to the very top with a large campervan or motorhome. The roads are quite narrow and steep, so a small camper or your car with a roof tent is most suitable. The road is mostly concrete, with dirt and stone pathways along the way further at the top. It’s driveable with a normal car or motorbike during the warmer months, but we believe that the route to the top is closed during the winter months.

Keep a look out for wild animals

Along the way you have the chance to spot some local wildlife, such as the birds of pray or local deer. We didn’t spot much during our visit, but we were there by lunch time, so early morning or later in the evening would have been a better time to see local wildlife.

Dress for the weather

It can change quite rapidly at the top based on the high elevation above 2,000m. We visited on a gorgeous 25°c degree day in Ticino, but at the top it was only 3.5°c!!

We took coats with us to be sure we would not get cold. And so if you plan on hiking or staying outside for a longer period, make sure to check this and do the same.

Take a drink and snacks

It is always good when going for a drive to have some refreshments with you. Since this area is 100% nature, we highly suggest to take water and snacks with you, maybe even a picnic, for your visit.

Of course we want to highlight that you must take all your trash with you. Please do not litter the scenery. Take it all back home with you to trash and recycle appropriately.

Capture the scenery

The scenery is so stunning that you’ll want to stop many times for photos. Make sure your camera/phone is fully charged, with a powerbank with you if needed. Also make sure that if you are taking a camera, to have an SD card that isn’t already full. We did this once and couldn’t use it without deleting some previous photos first!